POLICE DISCRETION

Police Discretion

Police Discretion

Introduction

Human safety and assistance is amongst the highest priorities of almost every country. Not only at the state level, but if we believe Maslow's hierarchy of needs to be valid, it is amongst the basic needs of individuals for survival. The police department is amongst the several departments the state has formed for the protection and assistance of the citizens. Every department has to follow certain rules and conduct for carrying out their operations, besides being provided with a strict code of conduct they're also given a little liberty to handle certain situations at their own. The real debate begins when the liberty is often taken for granted and misused.

Police Discretion

The literal meaning of discretion is to have a choice or the freedom to act or judge on one's own. Some decisions /actions are left at the judgment of the police because it is practically not possible for the law or jury to address every situation the police may confront on the field.

On a daily basis, the police officers deal with numerous cases that are supposed to be handled on an immediate basis, at that moment the officer does not have the time to refer to the laws before making a judgment, this is where his discretion plays the role, when the situation demands him to take an impromptu decision. The discretion is also imperative when the officer either has no or a very little assistance on how to handle a particular situation, therefore, the officers have suppleness in conducting the situations they may face. As earlier discussed, the police discretion enables the officers to judge at the spot, whether to let anyone go after a stern warning, provide with a ticket or take that person to jail even for a slight crime considering him to be a potential threat for the society (Davis, 1969).

However, when it comes to handling the criminal offenses the police do not have an unchained and untied discretion. They are still bound by some prejudged and predetermined laws. Minor offenses can be judged on the basis of discretion, but the major and obvious offense has to be dealt with in the boundaries of law, for example, police cannot just overlook a murder and warn the murderer with stern cautions. This illustrates that while officers have the liberty to make their own judgment, they still are bound to follow laws.

The officer can use this liberty in crimes like domestic violence, hate crimes, drunk drivers and even crimes that involve the mental issues. Discretion can be used in offenses or offenders that may not fairly fall under the law, for example, an officer can step in a domestic issue between husband and wife. Discretion comes in play where the purpose lies in educating the people committing minor issues like over speeding, however, major offenses like murder or rape have to be dealt with the proper law (Alpert & Dunham, 2004).

Advantages of Police Discretion

It has been a debatable ...